St. Mary Magdalene
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| St. Mary Magdalene |
Apart from the Blessed Virgin Mary, another famous figure in the New Testament is St. Mary Magdalene - the Penitent. She has been a subject of veneration, debate and controversy up to this day. In this day in age, she is revered by the faithful not only as a Penitent but also a model for preachers and contemplative life as evidently seen in numerous Orders and congregations naming her as their patroness.
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| St. Mary Magdalene |
One of Jesus’s most celebrated disciples, most of what is known about Mary Magdalene comes primarily from the Four Canonical Gospels. She is believed to have been of Jewish descent, though her culture and manners were that of a Gentile. Her name, “Magdalen,” comes from her birth town of Magdala.
The canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John place Mary as witness to Jesus’s crucifixion, burial and resurrection. The gospel references primarily speak only to her presence and rudimentary actions at these events; they don’t describe her personality, history or character. However, over the centuries, Western Christian doctrine, Renaissance art and literature and modern media have depicted Mary as a prostitute which this belief was later dismissed by the Church due non existing biblical evidence to support this claim.
The Gospels agree that Mary was originally a great sinner. Jesus cast seven demons out of her when he met her. After this, she told several women she associated with and these women also became followers. There is also debate over if Mary Magdalene is the same unnamed women, a sinner, who weeps and washes Jesus' feet with her hair in the Gospel of John. Scholars are skeptical this is the same person until 2021 when the Rome officially issued a decree separating the two Marys with the institution of the Feast of Bethany siblings set on July 29.
Despite the scholarly dispute over her background, what she did in her subsequent life, after meeting Jesus, is much more significant. She was certainly a sinner whom Jesus saved, giving us an example of how no person is beyond the saving grace of God. Mary was present when Christ rose from the dead, visiting his tomb to anoint his body only to find the stone rolled away and Christ, very much alive tat she (apart from the Blessed Virgin Mary) was the first witness to His resurrection. Our Lord Jesus Christ then set her to proclaim the news of His resurrection to the Apostles and faithful disciples. It was from this episode in her life that she was called "Apostola Apostolorum" (The Apostle of the Apostles)
Her Life after the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus
The canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John place Mary as witness to Jesus’s crucifixion, burial and resurrection. The gospel references primarily speak only to her presence and rudimentary actions at these events; they don’t describe her personality, history or character. However, over the centuries, Western Christian doctrine, Renaissance art and literature and modern media have depicted Mary as a prostitute which this belief was later dismissed by the Church due non existing biblical evidence to support this claim.
The Gospels agree that Mary was originally a great sinner. Jesus cast seven demons out of her when he met her. After this, she told several women she associated with and these women also became followers. There is also debate over if Mary Magdalene is the same unnamed women, a sinner, who weeps and washes Jesus' feet with her hair in the Gospel of John. Scholars are skeptical this is the same person until 2021 when the Rome officially issued a decree separating the two Marys with the institution of the Feast of Bethany siblings set on July 29.
Despite the scholarly dispute over her background, what she did in her subsequent life, after meeting Jesus, is much more significant. She was certainly a sinner whom Jesus saved, giving us an example of how no person is beyond the saving grace of God. Mary was present when Christ rose from the dead, visiting his tomb to anoint his body only to find the stone rolled away and Christ, very much alive tat she (apart from the Blessed Virgin Mary) was the first witness to His resurrection. Our Lord Jesus Christ then set her to proclaim the news of His resurrection to the Apostles and faithful disciples. It was from this episode in her life that she was called "Apostola Apostolorum" (The Apostle of the Apostles)
Her Life after the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus
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| St. Mary Magdalene holding the Easter egg as depicted in an Orthodox icon |
After the Ascension of Christ, a legend states that she remained among the early Christians and preached the Gospel. In the Orthodox tradition, it is said that she went to the Emperor of Rome and greeted him with "Christ has risen," whereupon he pointed to an egg on his table and stated, "Christ has no more risen than that egg is red." After making this statement it is said the egg immediately turned blood red. It was from this Eastern Orthodox tradition that led to the popularity of Easter eggs in the Orthodox Church that became popular to the West a few centuries later.
Sacred Tradition also holds that after the execution of St. James the Great in Jerusalem, she and the other disciples were persecuted by the Jews and imprisoned. The Jews were afraid of the crowd if they were to execute the prisoners so they towed them off the shores of Palestine in a boat without sails or oars or supplies and abandoned them to the open sea. After narrowly escaping death during a storm at sea the boat finally came to shore on the coast of Gaul in a town now called Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in Camargue, France.
Sts. Mary Jacobe and Mary Salome remained in Camargue. St. Martha traveled towards Avignon and ended up in Tarascon. Sts. Mary Magdalene, Lazarus, Maximin and Cedonius traveled on to Marseille where Mary Magdalene began to preach. They ended up converting the whole of Provence. Lazarus became the first bishop of Marseille. Mary Magdalene then went on to Aix where Maximin had already gone, some twenty miles north of Marseille and later became its first bishop.
St. Mary Magdalene retreated to a mountain cave on the plain of the Plan d’Aups known as La Sainte Baume in 47 AD where she remained alone for the last thirty years of her life in contemplation, prayer and penance. She is said to have been lifted up by the angels seven times each day at the canonical hours and fed heavenly nourishment. The tiny chapel of Saint Pilon on the crest above La Sainte Baume was built in memory of Mary Magdalene being raised by angels. When the time of Mary Magdalene’s death arrived she was carried by angels to the oratory of Maximin, where she received viaticum. She died in Maximin’s arms and her body was laid in an alabaster sarcophagus in an oratory he constructed in the Gallo Roman town of Villa Latta or Tégulata, which after Maximin’s death became St. Maximin.
The discovery of her relics
Sacred Tradition also holds that after the execution of St. James the Great in Jerusalem, she and the other disciples were persecuted by the Jews and imprisoned. The Jews were afraid of the crowd if they were to execute the prisoners so they towed them off the shores of Palestine in a boat without sails or oars or supplies and abandoned them to the open sea. After narrowly escaping death during a storm at sea the boat finally came to shore on the coast of Gaul in a town now called Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in Camargue, France.
Sts. Mary Jacobe and Mary Salome remained in Camargue. St. Martha traveled towards Avignon and ended up in Tarascon. Sts. Mary Magdalene, Lazarus, Maximin and Cedonius traveled on to Marseille where Mary Magdalene began to preach. They ended up converting the whole of Provence. Lazarus became the first bishop of Marseille. Mary Magdalene then went on to Aix where Maximin had already gone, some twenty miles north of Marseille and later became its first bishop.
St. Mary Magdalene retreated to a mountain cave on the plain of the Plan d’Aups known as La Sainte Baume in 47 AD where she remained alone for the last thirty years of her life in contemplation, prayer and penance. She is said to have been lifted up by the angels seven times each day at the canonical hours and fed heavenly nourishment. The tiny chapel of Saint Pilon on the crest above La Sainte Baume was built in memory of Mary Magdalene being raised by angels. When the time of Mary Magdalene’s death arrived she was carried by angels to the oratory of Maximin, where she received viaticum. She died in Maximin’s arms and her body was laid in an alabaster sarcophagus in an oratory he constructed in the Gallo Roman town of Villa Latta or Tégulata, which after Maximin’s death became St. Maximin.
The discovery of her relics
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| The skull relic of St. Mary Magdalene |
In 1279, St. Louis’ nephew, Charles II (Prince of Salerno and Count of Provence) acquired knowledge that the relics were buried in the town of St. Maximin in the church with the same name, so he ordered excavations in Saint Maximin to search for them. On December 10, 1279, deep in the earth, he found the marble tomb. When he tried to open it a wonderful smell of perfume filled the air. Inside lay her entire body except her jaw bone. In the dust inside the tomb was a wooden tablet wrapped in wax: “Here lies the body of Mary Magdalene” and a parchment which explained that in 710 her remains had been secretly transferred during the night into the marble tomb of Cedonius and hidden so that the Saracens wouldn’t find them.
On April 6, 1295 the skull was reunited with its jaw bone at St. John Lateran in Rome where it had been venerated for centuries, thanks to Pope Boniface VIII, who then published the pontifical bull for the establishment of the Dominicans at La Sainte Baume and St. Maximin. Some years later the Basilica of Saint Mary Magdalene was built over the spot where Charles II found her remains. A Dominican priory was built in St. Maximin as well as a little priory at La Sainte Baume.
On April 6, 1295 the skull was reunited with its jaw bone at St. John Lateran in Rome where it had been venerated for centuries, thanks to Pope Boniface VIII, who then published the pontifical bull for the establishment of the Dominicans at La Sainte Baume and St. Maximin. Some years later the Basilica of Saint Mary Magdalene was built over the spot where Charles II found her remains. A Dominican priory was built in St. Maximin as well as a little priory at La Sainte Baume.
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| St. Mary Magdalene |
Since then hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, including many kings and popes and saints, have continued to journey to La Sainte Baume and St. Maximin to pray to and to give thanks for the intercession of Saint Mary Magdalene.
The Veneration
The veneration to St. Magdalene became popular both in the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. Her feast day is celebrated every July 22 and her memorial was recently raised to a feast in 2016 by Pope Francis.
She is the patroness of converts, repentant sinners, sexual temptation, pharmacists, tanners and women, and many other places and causes. Numerous cities, towns, churches, basilicas, religious orders and congregations took her as their patroness, most notably the Order of the Preachers (more popularly known as the Dominicans) where she is named the Co-Patroness of the Order because she is their model for preaching the Good News to the people. Her name is often used by the nuns and the religious as their religious name for they looked at her as a model of contemplative life, most notable of them all was St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi of the Carmelite Order.
References:
Butler, Alban, "Lives of the Saints", TAN Books, USA, 1995.
"Mary Magdalene – The Provençal Tradition", Retrieved from http://www.magdalenepublishing.org/about/ on July 21, 2020.
Thompson, Mary R. "Mary of Magdala, Apostle and Leader". New York: Paulist Press, 1995.
"Traditions of Great Lent and Holy Week". Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton, 2018.
The Veneration
The veneration to St. Magdalene became popular both in the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. Her feast day is celebrated every July 22 and her memorial was recently raised to a feast in 2016 by Pope Francis.
She is the patroness of converts, repentant sinners, sexual temptation, pharmacists, tanners and women, and many other places and causes. Numerous cities, towns, churches, basilicas, religious orders and congregations took her as their patroness, most notably the Order of the Preachers (more popularly known as the Dominicans) where she is named the Co-Patroness of the Order because she is their model for preaching the Good News to the people. Her name is often used by the nuns and the religious as their religious name for they looked at her as a model of contemplative life, most notable of them all was St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi of the Carmelite Order.
References:
Butler, Alban, "Lives of the Saints", TAN Books, USA, 1995.
"Mary Magdalene – The Provençal Tradition", Retrieved from http://www.magdalenepublishing.org/about/ on July 21, 2020.
Thompson, Mary R. "Mary of Magdala, Apostle and Leader". New York: Paulist Press, 1995.
"Traditions of Great Lent and Holy Week". Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton, 2018.
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